Apparatus for manufacturing filaments



July 4, 1939. KREJC] 5 AL 2,165,105

APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING FILAMENTS Filed Aug. 18,1937 3 Sheets-Sheet Inventor-s Robert E Kr'egjci, William F! Zabel,

y H Th ir- Attorney.

July 4, 1939.

R. F. KREJq El AL APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING FILAMENTS Filed Aug. 18, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventors: Robert F Krejci, William F. Zabel, log Their Attorney.

y 1939- R. F. KREJCI U 2,165,105

APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING FII AME NTS.

Filed Aug. 18,1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 InVeht rs: Robert E Krejci, William R Zabel, b fluid" ,JWL

' Th i r Attorney.

ing to the rate of coiling.

Patented July 4, 1939 APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING FILA- MENTS Robert F. Krejci and William P. Zabel, Cleveland Heights,

Ohio, assignors to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application August 18, 1937, Serial No. 159,727

5 Claims.

' Our invention relates to apparatus for automatically coiling and heat treating fine wire used for filaments in incandescent lamps and the like and more particularly to automatic apparatus for coiling the filaments individually and heat treating them separately at rates of speed correspondis an The present invention improvement upon the methods and apparatus for making filaments disclosed in applications Serial Nos. 132,763 and 133,854, William P. Zabel, one of the inventors herein, filed March 24 and 30, 1937, respectively. The present apparatus includes means for conveying the individual filaments after they have been coiled, preferably by apparatus of the type disclosed in Illingworth Patent 1,771,927, issued July 29, 1930, to heat treating apparatus similar to that shown in Zabel application Serial No. 133,854 hereinbefore referred to. According to our invention, a chain type conveyor having buckets thereon is provided for carrying the filaments away from the coiling apparatus at the same rate as they are produced, and a sufficient number of furnaces and associated apparatus are also provided to heat treat the filaments at the same rate as they are produced. Other features and advantages of our invention will be apparent from the description which follows and from the accompanying drawings of one species thereof.

In the drawings, Fig. l is a plan view of apparatus comprising our invention with the coiling apparatus only partially shown; Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof; Fig43 is a horizontal section through a portion of the coiling apparatus while in the process of finishing a coiled-coil filament; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the cleaning portion of our apparatus partially broken away to show the interior thereof; Fig. 5 is a vertical section at an enlarged scale along line 55 of- Fig. 1 showing the principal parts of the heat treating portion of our apparatus; Fig. 6 is a perspectiv view at an enlarged scale of a boat for carrying a filament in and out of operative relation to the furnace; Fig. 7 isa vertical section of the furnace along line 'I-1 of Fig. 1;. and Fig. 8 is a plan view of ratchet mechanism for shifting the position of the filament receiving hoppers.

According to our invention, individual coiledcoil filaments are produced at regular intervals by the coiling portion ll of our apparatus which is only partially shown since it is essentially the same as the single head coiling apparatus shown in lllingworth Patent 1,733,881 of October 29, 1929. As shown in operation consists in Figs. 1 and 3, the coiling winding the continuous coil of the machine.

l2 of filament wire with its mandrel still in place on the temporary mandrel l3 which is withdrawn from the secondary coil after the portion constituting a filament I0 is severed from the remainder of the coil l2 by the knives l4 and I5. At the conclusion of this operation, an end of the filament coil l2 protrudes from the spindle l6, and the jaws l1 and i8 which have opened to release the preceding filament l0, advance and grip said end. A succeeding filament I0 is then coiled by 10 the rotation of spindle It; as both the jaws l1 and I8 and the temporary mandrel 13 are moved away therefrom. The rotation of the spindle 16 stops when the desired number of turnshave been I produced and the end of the temporary mandrel '1 'I3 is reached, but the jaws l1 and I8 and mandrel l3 continue to move until additional filament coil I2 is drawn out; This movement allows sufficient filament coil l2 to be left clear to form an uncoiled leg on the end in length to'that held by the jaws l1 and I8 and to form the forward end of the succeeding filament l0. After the knives Hi and I5 are operated. the temporary mandrel 13 again moves in the same direction longitudinally, the coils of the filament l0, and the jaws I7 and V I8 separate, thereby releasing said filament l0; The filament l0 falls clear of the coiling device and into the stationary bucket l9 mounted therebelow which holds it until the conveyor 20 moves a second bucket 2l-into position below said stationary bucket l9. As the bucket 2| moves into position, the forward portion 22 thereof strikesthe weighted portion 23 of the stationary bucket l9 causing it to turn and move away from the other half 24 thereof, and allows the filament III to fall through the opening therebetween. The bucket I9 is V-shaped with one half 24 fastened directly to the supporting .arm 25 and the half 23 pivoted thereon and weighted so as to nor-- 4 mally swing against the other half 24'. The con-1 veyor 20 includes a number of buckets 2| which are mounted at regular intervals on the chain. I 26. The chain 26 moves at a uniform rate in the direction indicated by the arrow-and passes around the sprockets 21 and 28 at opposite ends Sprocket 21 does the driving, being fastened to the shaft 29,.whlch is supported by the bracket 30 extending from the table 3| and which is driven by the sprocket 32, The 5 sprocket 32 is driven by the chain 33 which engages a sprocket on the driven shaft of the speed reducer 34 which in turn is driven by the coiling device by the chain 35.; Sprocket 28 is an idler and is pivoted on the pinf36 held bythe bracket 1;-

of the filament l0 equal withdrawing from 25 sprocket 28 on the coiling device through the s 31 which is mounted on the table 3| and which guides the conveyor chain 26 adjacent said Movement of the conveyor 28 in the direction indicated carries the buckets 2| and the. filaments |8 therein through the cleaning portion 44 of our apparatus which washes these parts with carbontetrachloride vapors which dissolve and wash the oil, etc., therefrom. The cleaning portion 44 of our apparatus is shown in detail in Fig.

4 and comprises a container 45 having a we1l 46 for holding liquid carbon tetrachloride, and an electric heating element 41 attached to the bottom thereof for raising the temperature of the 49 and an opening tainer 45, as shown, to

tus, the buckets 2| passes into liquid so that the remainder of the container 45 is filled with the vapors thereof. The buckets 2| and chain 28 pass into the container.45 through an opening in one side, through the cooling coils 48 which condense the vapors attempting to pass out through the said opening, through the vapor in the container which passes down around the filament and between the coils thereof to thoroughly wash it, and then through the cooling coil 49' in the other side of the container, the said coil 49 serving to condense the vapors about the filament and boat and cause,

them to drain off. In this case, the cooling coils 48 and 49 are formed from one piece of tubing which is soldered to the container where it passes therethrough, and the cooling fluid, preferably tap water, flows through the coil 49 at the right, then through coil 48 to the drain. A third cool ing coil 58 is located at the open top of the conprevent the vapors from passing out said top. 7 From the cleaning portion 44 of our apparapass to the heat treating portion thereof which treats the filaments |8 in the manner disclosed in the Zabel dockets hereinbefore referred to. This portion of our apparatus is comprised of a plurality of duplicate sections in order to handle the full production ofthe coiling section II although the heat treatment is for a relatively short time (about five seconds). In this instance, there are eight such sections located so as to be in alignment with eight consecutive buckets and. as each succeeding series of buckets 2| position before these sections, the halves 22 and 42 of said buckets 2| are separated to allow the filaments l8 to fall into the boats 5| therebelow. The half 42 of each of the buckets 2|wis pivoted on the block 43 and normally is held against the other half 22 by the greater weight of the outer portion thereof, but when the filament I8 is released the end of a finger 52 'is raised to strike the pivoted half 42 and swing it away from engagement with the other half 2'2. All eight fingers 52 are mounted on the rod 53 which is supported by three equidistantly spaced brackets 54 extending upward from the table 3| and whichisturned, so as to move the fingers 52, by the arm 55. Arm 55, as shown in Fig. 2, is connected through the link 58 to lever 2| of the conveyor 28 and which guide the conveyor chain 26 in thisarea.

The boats 5| receiving the filaments N are, as shown in' Fig. 6, of exceedingly small mass, being formed in this case frcmtungsten ribbon about .003 inch in thickness. The boats 5| conform to the requirements of the apparatus and method disclosed in the Zabel applications hereinbefore referred to and each is mounted on the end of a rod 83 which is held by the bearing 84 attached to bar 85. Each boat 5| is held upright by. a gear 88 which is fastened to the end of the rod 63 and meshes with the rack 61 which is mounted on the side of bar 65 by means of the rollers 68 (Fig.1). The rollers 68 shown are some of a plurality which ride in slots in bar 85 and support the rack 61 while the blocks 69, which are attached to said bar 65, hold it against said rack.

Once the filaments l8 are located-in the boats 5|, said boats are advanced into the furnaces 18 and into the heating coils 1| by movement of the bar 85 and the carriage 12 on which said bar 65 is mounted. The carriage'12 slides on rods 13 and 14 which are mounted at one end in the block 15 on the lower surface of the table 3| 4 and at the other end in the arm 16 extending from the lower portion of said table 3| and is moved by lever 11 to which it is connected by the link 18. The lever 11 is actuated by the box cam 19 on the reduced speed shaft of speed reducer 34 which it engages through a roller (not shown) and turns about the shaft 88 extending from block I35. The heating coil 1| within each of the furnaces 18, as shown in Fig. 5, is supported by the posts 8| and 82 which are split to accommodate the ends of said coil and are clamped thereto by the nuts 83 screwed thereon. Post 8| is fastened to'the plate 84 which is connected to the grounded side 'of the source of electricity for heating the coil 1| whereas post 82 is mounted on said plate 84 through the insulating bushings and washers 85 and is connected through conductor 86 to the other side of said source. Additional support is furnished the posts 8| and 82' by the insulating block 81 and by the straps 88 which engage post 8| directly and the post 82 through insulating block 89.

Additional support is alsofurnished the heating coil II to keep the turns in alignment with each other by the wires 98 and 9| which extend up-' ward from the insulating block 81 and are notched to engage the wire of the heating coil 1|.

' The heat treatment takes place in a non-oxidizing atmosphere (in this case, hydrogen) which is introduced into the furnace 18 through pipe '92 and flows down around the outside of the deflector 93 (Fig. 7) to the bottom edge thereof and then into the furnace proper which causes it to be preheated and to wash the furnace 18.

in the table 3| on on the rods :iei' of operation, some gas is forced out of the furnace I0 through the chamber 94 thereof and is conducted upward through the pipe 95 attached thereto which eliminates the possibility of flame at the outer opening of the chamber 94. The gas within the furnace I0 is agitated very little by the passage of the boat 5| in and out of the furnace I0. Probably very little, if any, of the outer atmosphere is carriedinto the furnace I0 therewith and the nonoxidizing gas always fills all except the very edge of the chamber 94. A metal reflector '96 is mounted about the heating coil II by suitable means (not shown) to redirect some of the radiated heat 15 back onto said coil II and the boat 5| and filament III. The complete furnace I0 is cooled by a flow of water between the double walls thereof. The cooling water is introduced into the furnace walls through the pipe 91 and flows 20 out the bent end of the pipe 98 (Fig. 2).

The temperature of the heat treatment is set by adjustment of the current applied to the heating coil II in accordance with the readings shown by an optical pyrometer sighted through the window 99 in the tubular extension I00 ofthe furnace 10. The window 99 is made from a heat; resisting glass and is held in place by the cap IOI screwed to the extension I00. Because of the explosiveness of a mixture of hy drogen and air,'the furnace I0 is not clamped to the plate 84 but is allowed to rest thereon and two openings are made in the plate 84 which are I closed off by the plugs I02.' In case of an explosion within the furnace 10, the spring fin- 35 gers I03 permit the plugs I02 to be pushed from the holes in the plate 84 so that the pressure within the furnace is reduced without damage to any of the parts. Each of the plates 84 supporting the furnaces .I0 is hungin the opening the bolts I04 and supports apair of rods I04 at diagonal corners of the furnace I0 which guides it when it is raised from the plate 84.

The boats 5| are kept within'the heating coil 5 for the heating period of the treatment which is very short because of the small mass of the parts to be heated and the high temperature thereof, and are then retracted slightly to the furnace chamber 94 where they remain for an interval to cool; From the furnace chamber 94 the boats 5| are moved back to a position over the hoppers I05 and are turned over so that the filaments I0 therein fall into said hoppers. The turning-over movement of the boats 5| is pro- 55 ducedby the latter portion of the withdrawing movement as the rack 51 is then moved sideward by the passage of the roller I06 on the bracket. I01 attached thereto into the diagonal slot I08 in the cam.|09, thereby rotating the gears 66 63 which carry said boats 5|. The cam I09 is stationary and is mounted on the bracket I I0 fastened to rods 13 and I4. Normally the rack 61 holds the boats 5| upright as it is held in that position by the spring III which extends between a post in said rack 51 and the block 69. The return movement of the boats 5| turns them over into position to receive succeeding filaments I0.

'I'he hoppers I05 receiving thefilaments I0 rest.- .7c upon the bar "2 (Figs. 2 and 5)-which in turn II3 located in the ways" is mounted on the slide in plate H4 and are moved back and forth sideward automatically to cause the'filaments I0 to pile up more evenly therein. The sideward move- 75. ment of the hoppers I05 is produced by movement v therefrom. The spring of a slide "3 created byfthe' rotation of a different section of the cam II5 (Figs. 2 and 8) into position behind roller IIS on the post extending III which extends between the other endof said slide I I3 and the table 5 3| pulls the slide II3 so that the roller IIB follows the cam surface. The cam II5, as shown in Figs. 1 and 8, is attached to the shaft II8 extending through the bracket H9 and is turned by the ratchet wheel I20 which is also attached to 10 said shaft H8. The ratchet wheel I20 is turned by the pawl I2I mounted on the arm I22 which is struck by the end of the screw I23 attached to the carriage I2 during the forward movement thereof. The arm I22 is pivoted on the shaft H8 and is returned to its former position after the carriage I2 moves back by the spring I24 which extends between posts in said arm I22 and the bracket H9. The pawl I2I is kept against thev ratchet 120 by the spring I25. The cam H5 is held in place during the return movement of the pawl I2I by the friction produced by the spring I26 over the lower end of shaft II8.

The filaments I0 are unloaded manually either by removing hoppers I05 individually from the apparatus or by removing the bar II2 with each of .the hoppers I05 still in place. The; hoppers I05 rest directly on the ba'r H2 and are held in place by protruding ridges I21 (Fig. 2) in both sides. thereof which fit into correspondingly shaped grooves in the blocks I28 on said bar H2 and by the ball I29 backed by the spring I30 which enters a depression at the mid point in the hoppers I05. To remove the hoppers I05 separately, they are merely slid sideward from between the blocks I28, whereas if all of the hoppers I05 are removed at once, thebar H2 is slid longitudinally on the slide II3, through manual engagement with the handle |3l until both plates I32 (Fig. 5) on the bar 'II2 are removed from the side grooves in the slide H3. The slide H3 is. retained in the ways in plate 4 by the plates I33 attached thereto'which enter side grooves in said slide II3.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a device of the class described, the combination of means for successively coiling portions of a filament wire and severing the coiled portions to form individual filaments, heat treating means for said filaments mounted adjacent to said coiling means, a conveyor for carrying said filaments separately from said. coiling means to a position before said heat treating means comprising an endless belt, two-piece buckets mounted thereon at spaced intervals and having one half fastened directly to said belt and the other. half pivoted'thereon and weighted at one side so that it normally engages the first half and forms therewith a V trough in which the said filaments are carried, means for tipping the pivoted half of the conveyor buckets when they reach a position before the .heattreating means to allow the filamentsto drop therefrom and means for receiving said filaments and for carry-l ing them into and out of operative relation to said heat treating means.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination of means for successively coiling portions of a filament wire and severing the coiled portions to form individual filaments, a stationary bucket mounted below said coiling means adapted to receive the filaments released thereby; an endless' chain having buckets at spaced intervals thereon and adapted to carry said buckets below the said stationary bucket to receive filaments discharged therefrom, a plurality of furnaces having heating means therein located adjacent to the path of movement of said chain, boats located before said furnaces and below the path of movement of the buckets on said chain for receiving the filaments discharged therefrom and means for moving said boats to carry the filaments separately into and out of the furnacesto I cause said filaments to be heat treated.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination of means for successively coiling portions of a filament wire and severing the coiled portions to form individual filaments, a stationary bucket mounted below said coiling means adapted to receive the filaments released thereby, an endless chain having buckets at spaced intervals thereon and adapted to carry said buckets below the said stationary bucket to receive filaments discharged therefrom, a plurality of furnaces mounted adjacent to the path of travel of said endless chain, each of said furnaces having a resistance coil mounted therein, means for introducing a nonoxidizing gas into said furnaces, a deflector-there'- in for directing the incoming gas downward along the walls thereof and into the interior of the fur- .nace at the bottom, a chamber extending from each of said furnaces in alignment with the resistance coil therein, a plurality of boats located before the furnaces and in position to receive the filaments discharged from the conveyor buckets thereat' and means moving said boats through the furnace chambers into the resistance coils therein for a definite interval to cause the filaments therein to be heated and then retracting a plurality of said boats into the chambers for an interval to allow them to cool and finally withdrawing them from the furnaces.

4. In a device of the class described for treating individual coiled filaments, the combination preventing the vapor from -passing. from said openings in said container, heat treating means mounted adjacent to said container and means for conveying said individual filaments into said container to cause the filaments to be cleaned by the vapor therein and then into operative relation 7 to said heat treating means.

5. In a device of the class described for treating individual coiled filaments, the combination of a container for cleaning fluid having openings in opposite sides thereof, a heater located adjacent to said container for raising the temperature of the cleaning fluid therein to cause .it to be vaporized into'the upper portion thereof, a cooling coil disposed within said container adjacent to each of said openings therein for preventing the vapor from passing from said openings, heat treating means mounted adjacent to said container and means for conveying said individual filaments into said container to cause the filaments to be cleanedby the vapor therein and then into operative relation to said heat treating means.

ROBERT F. KiEtEJCl'. WILLIAM P. ZABEL. 

